Immigrants+and+Immigration

**Chapter** By Rossana B. and Maria A. 
 * IMMIGRANTS AND IMMIGRATION**

The United States has been seen as the land of opportunities, a place where one has a better chance of survival than in their home countries. The foundation of the United States was built from immigrants fleeing their country for religious freedom, hence, the creation of the thirteen colonies. Very early on there were not many immigration laws restricting people from coming into the country. Europeans being the first ones to settle in what is now known as the United States; other different ethnicities began coming as well. As a result, it can be said that immigrants have built American society in many different sectors. For instance, the Chinese helped build the railroads, and Mexicans helped with labor shortages during war time. It would not be long for the United States to place quotas in attempts to restrict massive influx of immigrants. In the early 1900’s these quotas began taking into effect that targeted specific groups of immigrants. In essence, the group that seemed to be a threat for American society was the one to receive the backlash. Latinos in particular have been scrutinized tracing back to the early 1930’s until present day. Most recently, Latinos have received some of the harshest laws in attempts to regulate their immigration ways. For example, in 1994, California passed proposition 187, which negatively affected many undocumented immigrants by creating fear of being reported and not being able to utilize basic services. Many of these sentiments are created by the overexposure in the media stating that immigrants are taking jobs from Americans and so forth. In addition, the experiences of immigrant children in American schools are highly impacted by many other factors. For instance, access to health care is often limited to immigrant families, which could promote healthy lifestyles and often the resources are not utilized. One’s migration status should not be a reason to not use these services, which can potentially help children and their performance in school. Another area that needs to be considered is immigrant children and schooling. In New York City, where there is a large amount of English Language Learners (ELL’s), studies have been conducted to see what are the best ways to teach ELL’s. Some suggestions were to have better qualified teachers and staff in order to provide the necessary support for ELL’s and decrease the dropout rate. Additionally, some of the challenges that ELL children face, particularly Dominicans, are feelings of isolation and having unequal instruction compared to their monolingual counterparts. Lastly, the wave of immigrants from 1990’s to 2000 were highly unskilled, less educated and of lower socioeconomic status, which supports lawmakers remarks that immigrants are here to take advantage of the resources available. Also, it appears that the trend will be that Latinos will become the next majority-minority by the year 2020 which raises a flag within politicians. Another concern that US citizens discuss is the notion of American becoming a bilingual speaking country, however, often times by the third generation many immigrants lose their native language. In essence, it can be argued that immigrants have and are the backbone of American society, as we know it. Whether the United States recognizes it or not, it has created an interdependence out of immigrants and immigrant labor.
 * INTRODUCTION**

1. A reason why immigration has been such a big debate is due in large to the attention it has received from the media and politics. A reason why immigrants are not well received especially Latinos is because of the idea they are using the resources that belong to "Americans." Counterarguments however state it is not entirely correct because although undocumented immigrants do reside in America they do not have access to Social Security, unemployment and so on. However, whenever the debate does come up, these points are never addressed. Most importantly, immigrants are here, pay taxes and do not receive all they are entitled to. 2. Besides the negative sentiments that America currently holds about immigration and immigrants, America has created a dependency on immigrant labor. Consequently, when it seems to become a "problem" or problems begin to occur, the focus is on immigrants and are blamed for those problems. As a result, many backlashes are created, legislation are passed in attempts to remediate the immigration problem. For instance, one of the purposes of NAFTA was to create jobs in a country, Mexico, which would then decrease the numbers of immigrants. However, that did not necessarily help create more jobs and as result did not decrease the number of people coming to America in hope of a better future. Immigration plays a factor when dealing with ELL children because it adds stress to the whole family and can interfere with the education of the children.  3. Latinos are on the rise and it is expected that 1 in every 7 will be foreign born, suggesting that we need to have a better way to educate immigrant children. Being able to predict can better facilitate educators to develop an effective curriculum for ELL's, one in which they can have a successful bilingual component. Also, by predicting the rates of ELL's can help the school district budget adequately. 4. Newly arrived immigrant students should be ensured adequate funding for ELL instruction and services; better qualified teachers and staff should be recruited and language barriers should be eliminated for parents who speak limited English. 5. Children are arriving into the  United States without a basic foundation in their own language which makes it difficult to transition to English. This is due to a lax attitude toward a disciplined education among children who stay behind with their guardians. Therefore, the child's educational development is hindered and thus feels further alienated upon arrival in the United States. 
 * MAIN POINTS**

6. A need to increase health care for immigrants in New York City in order to have access to a primary care physician. Many immigrant families whether they are documented or undocumented rarely use such services. Some reasons why they do not access health care services is due to the language barrier, along with their immigrations status. Especially if the family is here undocumented, having any health care or even a primary physician is not feasible because of fears of deportation. Regardless of immigration status, there is a need to increase the number of immigrant families to have and use health care services. 7. Many immigrant children enter the New York City Public School System with limited to no English language skills. Unfortunately these ELLs have among the highest dropout rate of all students in the school system.

8. Newly arrived high school students from the Dominican Republic face challenges in the New York City Department of Education. They find the American culture liberating and thus their expectations are often confused because they are so used to keeping their opinions to themselves. This brings conflict into the home making parents upset because they feel a loss of control over their children.

Boot, M. (2007) //End the Immigrant Hysteria:// //Immigrants Boon not a curse//. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved on February 20, 2009 from [] The article focused on immigration and the wide attention it receives. The author states that although this is a topic that is constantly in the nation’s eye, he raises the question, why is “illegal” immigration so problematic? He goes on to say that much of the debate regarding immigration is about the resources they use. Within the same light, what is often neglected is that these immigrants also contribute to society and the country. For instance, they pay taxes, cannot collect unemployment, or Social Security; something that is never taken into consideration when talking about “illegal” immigrants. Another argument that is made is the notion that immigrants are taking jobs away from American citizens but he states that this is not the case and employments has been on the rise. He also touches upon the “fear” that America will become lose its “Anglo” roots. Lastly, he touches upon what should be the focus for “illegal” immigration and a possible solution. He states that there needs to be more control over the southern border and provide some amnesty to the millions of immigrants that are already residing in the United States. (RB) Hightower, J. (2008) //Immigrants Come Here Because Globalization Took Their Jobs// //Back There//. Alternet, Independent Media Institute. Retrieved on February 16, 2009 from: [|http://www.alternet.org/columnists/story/76076/?page=1]This article discusses some points regarding immigration and immigration reform and includes another perspective about “illegal” immigration and immigrants. The article begins with a brief history of negative feelings towards immigrants, surprisingly it was written by Ben Franklin. It also touches upon the sentiments of how American’s view immigrants and all the negative attention they receive. The author gives insight about how America created an immigration dependency. The articles provides and illustrates some examples of immigrants flee their native country because their condition is worse than it is here. Many people feel that if immigrants do not want to give into the “American” lifestyle they should stay in their country. However, given the conditions in their native countries, these immigrants leave all they know to come to America in hopes of having a better life. As a result, immigrants have and keep getting blamed for taking away jobs from American citizens, Hightower sheds light on all the other factors that are often neglected. In particular the complexity of Mexico and United States relations and its close proximity makes it difficult for Mexicans to forget all they know. For instance, Hightower states that the main factors that lure immigrants to the United States are the deplorable living conditions, and NAFTA. The passage of NAFTA in 1994 rather than increase and create more employment in hopes of keeping citizens in their native countries, did the complete opposite. There are fewer job opportunities and the biggest challenge is the presence of US companies overseas. Such as Wal-Mart, these large companies go overseas with the notion of creating jobs, instead it forces small business to close leaving them out of business. Lastly, Hightower argues that in order to have a control over immigration, American society needs to look beyond what is going on in the country and start looking at what is happening overseas. (RB) Klein, J., Lyles, M., & Santos, M. (2007). //New York City's English Language Learners: Demographics and Performance.// New York City Department of Education Office of English Language Learners. Retrieved on February 20, 2009 from: [] This article includes demographics and performance of New York City's English Language Learners. It provides an introduction of who English Language Learners are, as well as ELL instruction and enrollment data in the New York City School System. Currently 139,842 students are designated as ELLs in New York City. Out of the five boroughs, the Bronx has the majority of ELL students and Staten Island has the least. The home language for a majority of ELLs is Spanish (67.6%). Almost 70% of current ELLs are in English as a Second Language (ESL) programs; 26% are in Transitional Bilingual Education (TBE) programs; and almost 4% of ELLs are in Dual Language programs. A majority of ELLs in Brooklyn and Queens are in ESL programs while the majority of ELLs in Manhattan and the Bronx are in bilingual programs. ELLs in Dual Langauge programs are found mainly in Manhattan. The article aslo discusses the performance of ELLs. Results indicate rising proficiency rates each year on the NYSESLAT. The percentage of ELLs meeting learning standards on the English Language Arts exam rose 5.3 percentage points in 2006. Since 2006, the percentage of ELLs meeting standards for the New York State Mathematics Exam rose 9.3 percentage points. Drop out and graduation rates reveal fewer ELL graduates (26.2%) and more dropouts (30.0%) in four years. However, they are still enrolled at higher rates (43.8%) than former ELLs or English proficient students. Former ELLs that have successfully transitioned to monolingual English classes have fewer dropouts and more graduates than English proficient students. (MA)
 * LINKS AND ANNOTATIONS**

New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. (2006) <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 80%;"> The Health of New York City Immigrants//.// <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;"> New York, NY. Retrieved on February 20, 2009 from [] The file is an actual report from the NYC department of Health and Mental Hygiene regarding the overall health and care of immigrants in New York City. The findings suggest that overall, foreign-born people have better health than U.S. born residents. However, one of the many challenges that foreign-born immigrants face is a language barrier or the access to a primary care physician. The report also shows the longer that these immigrants reside in the U.S., their health deteriorates due to the fact they might be exposed to some form of “toxins.” Of the few foreign-born New Yorkers are currently on Medicaid, however, there are still many ethnic groups that do not utilize such services. For instance, Mexicans, Haiti, Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, and Jamaica were a few reported. The findings of the study found that although improving health insurance coverage does not necessarily guarantee equal access to care and better health. Given the many other factors that might influence, such as legalization status, might be grounds for someone to not seek out any health coverage at all. Their suggestion is to make the access to health insurance to foreign-born New Yorkers more accessible, regardless of their legal status. (RB)

Roberts, S. (2008) //In 2020 1 in 7 will be foreign-born//. The New York Times. Retrieved on February 16, 2009 from:[| http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/11/us/11cnd-immig.html?scp=2&sq=immigrants&st=nyt] The article discusses how the trend of foreign born Latinos in the United States will increase. As the title implies, between the years of 2020 and 2025 foreign-born will account for 15 percent of the residents in the USA, which translates to 1 out 7 residents. Foreign-born is someone that is not a U.S. citizen at birth. It is estimated that Latinos will double from 14 percent in 2005 to 29 percent by 2050. Trends have shown that Latinos, the majority minority group on the rise and will continue to do. In addition, it is also estimated that Asians will almost double from 5 to 9 percent. Additionally, native-born children from Latino background will account for an increase to a 67 percent, which presently is at 60 percent. Lastly, the author states that the non-Latino population will decrease. (RB) Rosen, R., Wieler, S. & Pereira, J. (2005). //New York City Immigrants: The 1990s Wave.// Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Retrieved on February 19, 2009 from: []This article presents a profile of New York City's foreign-born residents who arrived in the United States between 1990 and 2000. It looks at the differences among various immigrant groups which may affect their skills and performance in the workplace. Recent immigrants differ from native born residents as well as from each other in age, education, English fluency and socioeconomic characteristic. Some groups such as immigrants from Latin America, the Caribbean, and China lack a high school degree and English language skills. Research shows that the least educated and low levels of English language fluency are associated with low median earnings. Statistics show that unemployment rates and labor force rates vary across various groups. Immigrants from China have a higher labor force participation, while immigrants from former Soviet states have a low rate of labor force participation. In order to help this diverse group of immigrants improve and participate in the city's labor market, various approaches are needed. For example, immigrants from Mexico, China, Latin America, and Spanish speaking Caribbean countries might benefit from continuing education programs and English language training, while immigrants with high rates of English fluency and low labor force participation might benefit from job search assistance and vocational training. (MA) The New York Immigration Coalition (2008). //2008 City Advocacy Day-Improve Educational Outcomes for Immigrant & ELL// //Students.// New York, NY. Retrieved on February 19, 2009 from: [] This article stresses the importance of providing adequate funding for ELL instruction and services as well as qualified teachers and staff in order to decrease the dropout rate facing ELLs. ELLs have the highest dropout rate and the gap is widening each year. Immigrant and ELL students are not receiving the help they need. The mayor's preliminary budget ignores promises of strengthening funding and instruction but rather imposes cuts that impact immigrant and ELL students. It has been shown that ELLs who become proficient in English graduate at higher rates than all other students. (MA) Work Permit. (2006). //US study concludes immigration does not threaten English language.// The World's most popular immigration advice site. Retrieved on February 19, 2009 from:[| http://www.workpermit.com/news/2006_09_14/us/english_safe_from_immigrants.htm] This article discusses concern among US citizens regarding Latino immigrants forcing Americans to speak Spanish, creating a bilingual country. Studies show that this is not true and they should not feel threatened. Studies show that most Latin American immigrants lose their ability to speak Spanish over the course of a few generations. By the third generation, most descendants of immigrants lose their mother tongue. This applies to all immigrant populations. The article also points out that it is important to consider that there is a strong need for bilingual employees and persons with fluency in English in addition to one or more native languages has greater work opportunities. (MA) Zahka, J. (2006). //Dominican Immigrants Face Challenges in New York City Public Schools.// Immigration. Retrieved on February 19, 2009 from: [] This article discusses various challenges Dominican Immigrants face in New York City Public Schools. Students often feel isolated due to language barriers and are usually thrown into bilingual classes in which they experience unequal treatment compared to English speaking students. The schools they attend are usually in low-income, high crime areas and often contain poorly qualified teachers. As a result, many students separate themselves forming ethnic groupings and many times end up joining street gangs. Another challenge Dominican Immigrants may encounter is, arriving in the United States without a basic foundation in their own language. This is due to children being left behind by their parents in the care of their grandparents or relatives, resulting in lack of a disciplined education. The child’s educational development is therefore hindered making in even more difficult for them to transition to English. (MA)